Vølund
Fabrication of Steam Rollers at the Danish Factory Vølund A/S. Company history The Danish mechanic F.A.H. Petersen established in 1875 a workshop in the street Borgergade in Copenhagen. In 1898 the workshop changed to a real factory named Vølund A/S. In 1921 moved the factory to a new place in the street Øresundsvej at Amager near to Copenhagen.Volund History Vølund A/S produced at that moment boiler units, laundries, pipe works, ship engines and steel constructions of all kinds, among the most famous is the Paris wheel in Tivoli in Copenhagen. In 1963 stated Vølund production at a new factory in Esbjerg. To day all kind of boilers using coal, oil, gas and biomass, and gasifiers are produced. Another important product is waste incineration boilers, where the monumental L90 in Esbjerg with an incineration capacity of 24 t/h is a great representative. Today the Vølund A/S factory is a subsidiary manufacturing plant of the International Company Babcock & Wilcox, manufacturing industrial boilers and incinerators.B&W Volund Steam roller production In the period 1924 to 1932 Vølund A/S produced 35 Steamrollers - 28 Vølund Senior and 7 Vølund Junior Steam Rollers. All Steam Rollers were produced at Øresundsvej. Here a special factory for repair works on steam locomotives and production of steamrollers was established. All produced steamrollers were traditionally one-cylinder engines equipped with piston valves. The weight was from 8, 10 to 12 tons. A carefully investigation shows that the Vølund Senior has some details common with The British Robey tandem Steam Roller. The design seems to be much better at several details. The world's greatest producer of steamrollers Aveling has also given some inspiration. Makers Badge (Logo) Aveling had as logo on all steamrollers a horse in bronze placed at the consol over the front roller. Below the horse there was a streamer with the text “ INVICTA” that means 'Unbeatable'. In order not to be in the shadow of Aveling & Porter, Vølund chose a logo from the Nordic Mythology witch was very powerfull. They chose the blacksmith Vølund known as the blacksmith who made the hammer of the famous Nordic God Thor. The bronze figure of Vølund was as usual placed at the consol over the front roller. The figure of blacksmith Vølund is still the log for Vølund A/S and all boilers delivered from the factory are equipped with this logo. Preservation All steamrollers produced at Vøund A/S were sold within Denmark. To day two Vølund Senior steamrollers exist, one is at the technical Museum in Helsingør. This steamroller has not been steamed since it was delivered to the museum in 1966. The other Vølund Senior is in the collection owned by Damptromleklubben (The Danish Steam Roller Club). Now the steamroller as a part of the steamroller collection owned by Damptromleklubben and can be seen at the open air working Museum Andelslandsbyen Nyvang near to the town Holbæk, 65 km out side Copenhagen. The Damptromleklubben has also a Vølund Junior steamroller, which can be steamed and can be seen driving every second week during the summer half year at the museum Nyvang. Restoration work For many years it has been the members of the Damptromleklubben's wish of bringing the Vølund Senior back into working conditions again. This means a major overhaul of the boiler and check of all mechanical parts. A new painting is also a part of the work. Vølund A/S which originally has constructed and fabricated the steamroller has for several years showed interest in doing the overhaul work. It is now reality and the 20. August 2002 members of the Damptromleklub have transported Vølund Senior to the factory in Esbjerg. The steam roller will during the coming year go trough a large overhaul done by Vølund and volunteers senior mechanic workers from Esbjerg, with technical support from the Damptromleklubben, where some members still can do special boiler work such as riveting and valsing of boiler tubes. When the Vølund Senior is fully restored there will be driving of steam roller in Esbjerg for a while before the roller returns home to the museum at Holbæk, where it will be steamed together with other Vølund Senior. The renovation work can be followed at damptromleklubbens web side www.damptromleklubben.dk 19. august 2002, Jørgen Hansen, - Babcock & Wilcox Vølund Engine list See also * List of Steam Machinery Manufacturers * Clubs Listing * Museums List References /sources External links * Official company web site * www.damptromleklubben.dk - Danish Steam Roller Club Category:Vølund Category:Steam engine manufacturers Category:Companies of Denmark Category:Companies founded in 1898 Category:Boiler manufacturers Category:Steam rollers